Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum Announces New Executive Director
The board of directors of the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeffrey Cannon as the Museum’s executive director.
Cannon brings 25 years of experience in leading and developing museums and cultural facilities around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution, the Qatar National Archives, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Saudi Arabia, and many others, both large and small. His expertise includes visitor-based planning, development, fundraising, capital planning, and leading large teams of museum professionals.
Cannon began his career in Nebraska after completing master’s degrees in museum studies and administration and in architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He served in the collection management department at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha before applying his museum expertise with the Leo A. Daly architecture firm during the construction of the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum’s 330,000-square foot facility that opened in 1998.
That project led to an interest in museum development. In 2007, Cannon moved to Washington, DC as vice president of AECOM where he led a multi-disciplinary team responsible for redevelopment of the Smithsonian museums on the mall. He subsequently worked for two other museum consulting firms before opening his own firm in 2013, Cannon Museum Group of Columbia, Maryland. As a consultant, he has helped museums and heritage sites around the world deal with issues of collections stewardship, guest engagement, sustainability and capital resource allocation. He has consulted on high-profile projects, worked with a number of other air and space museums, and been a frequent national conference speaker on contemporary issues facing museums and attractions.
The opportunity to lead the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum was of particular interest to Cannon. Not only did it represent the chance to return to Nebraska, his father served with SAC during the Cold War. “I am excited to utilize my knowledge of museums and aviation in order to build a world-class museum that will be known nationally and internationally, benefiting residents of Nebraska and honoring SAC’s important history,” Cannon said.